This invention relates generally to stretchers for transporting sick or injured persons and more particularly to a stretcher for use in a mine.
A miner injured in a mine tunnel must be transported out of the tunnel to receive treatment. The tunnels are typically so small and filled with mining equipment that an average sized man cannot stand fully erect. The equipment in the tunnel, such as a mining machine, a conveyor for transporting the coal and mine wall support structure, obstructs walkways requiring one to step over this equipment while walking through the tunnel. Thus, a normal stretcher or gurney is unacceptable for transporting sick or injured persons in the tunnel because it must be lifted over the obstructions as the persons carrying the stretcher themselves negotiate the obstructions. Lifting the stretcher over the obstructions is made more difficult by the confined space in the tunnel. Depending upon the specific injury, it may be very detrimental to jostle the injured person as he is being transported out of the tunnel. Therefore, there is presently a need for a stretcher which allows a sick or injured person in a mine to be smoothly transported out of the mine with a minimum of effort.